Halfpace
by Time Lady Tinkerbell
Summary: What would have happened if Naruto was different? What if he was a she? What if she looked like her mother and thought like her father? What if instead of becoming a loud mouth and being obnoxious she became introverted and kept quiet? May eventually go up to M.
1. Tilt

**AN: Well hello! My Name is Tinkerbell or just Tinker if you want to shorten it. This is my first story and to be honest I'm super nervous about it. I have a rough outline for the plot so far and yes there will be quite a few changes from the cannon, but hopefully not enough to make it AU. In this story Naruto, Naru to friends, is a female resembling her mother, with her father's personality. The teams will most likely be different then the cannon teams and I'm not sure if anyone else will be genderbent. I'm open to suggestions and ideas on almost anything. Pairing wise I do have an idea but I'm also willing to hear your recommendations as well because they won't happen until later on anyways. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything from the Naruto series however plot ideas and certain jutsu's may be mine. As well as Watari, Nobu, and Yoshiro –although if you really want you can have them! ;)**

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Kyuubi Speaking'_

Halfpace- n. A platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight.

_A masked figure grabs a baby with a shock of bright red hair, resembling the woman lying on the raised ground in the center of the room, from the medics attending to it. The blonde male who is checking on the woman, turns in surprise upon hearing the attendants of the birth falling to the floor. Pulling out a kunai and pointing it towards the baby the masked male voice speaks, "Fourth Hokage, Minato. Move away from the Jinchuriki. Otherwise, this child's life will end in one minute."_

_ Reaching out his hand the blonde, now known as Minato, can only shout out briefly along with the red-haired woman as the baby is thrown into that air. With incredible speed Minato saves the baby before it hits the floor, however the child's back starts sparking and he must throw away the blanket that it had been residing within. Using this distraction the masked man attacks the woman lying down and releases a huge nine-tailed fox from her body. Somehow the man is able to control the beast, and makes it head towards the village nearby. Quickly, grabbing the woman and baby, Minato teleports them to an entirely different place and lays them down on a bed. Slipping on his white over jacket the Fourth Hokage exits the room, which holds the woman and child._

_ The red-haired woman who was formally unconscious and writhing in pain snaps awake next to her child. "N-Naru-chan? Minato where are you?" She twists around on the bed now with the child sleeping in her arms looking around in confusion for the man who just left. Seeming to realize what has happened she sits up quickly, and cringes in pain, with the child still cradled to her. Glancing towards the slightly opened door she pushes herself out of bed with effort and leaves the house heading towards the red tails waving in the sky._

_ Upon arriving at the sight with the Kyuubi attacking the village, the woman uses a special technique to hold the monster down. Minato reappears at her side, notices how pale she is, and takes the baby from her arms. Looking down at the woman he says, "I'm so sorry Kushina, but it looks like we have no other choice." Kushina tilts her head to gaze sadly at him. Tears in the corner of her eyes she smiles, "It's okay, now you better get a move on. I don't know how much longer I can hold him down 'ttebane."_

_ While he prepares to use the forbidden technique Minato's eyes stray to the baby within his arms, "I wish you the best, Uzumaki Naruto."_

-Naruto: Age Three-

Now Naru-chan knew she was different. She had red hair and blue eyes; and wore a simple yellow colored dress with green and blue patches. In fact, many of the other little girls at the orphanage wore dresses with patches; though she supposed none had red hair and blue eyes like her. But what really made Naru feel different was the stares she would get from the prospective parents that came or the villagers that she saw on her field trips. Perhaps stares weren't the right word for it. It was more like they looked directly into her soul and despised everything about her because of what they saw there. So yes, Naru-chan knew she was different and knew she was hated.

But it wasn't so bad at the orphanage she supposed. Sure the Matron's never scolded anyone when they pulled her hair, she got ever so slightly less to eat, and during bath time they scrubbed her until her skin hurt to touch; but no one was openly mean to her. When they went on field trips into the village, which Naru suspected the Matron's would rather leave her at the orphanage as much as she would rather stay there, the villagers would spit at her and throw things, make rude gestures and say mean things. Naru cried a lot when they had field trips.

Slowly but surely Naru learned to hide herself better within the corners and closets in the orphanage. She figured out that after about ten minutes of searching for her the Matrons would give up and leave anyways. When the groups returned as punishment for hiding Naru wouldn't get dinner, but it was worth it to avoid the villagers.

One day, after hiding at the bottom of the arts and crafts closet, Naru thought of the great idea to go outside and explore while the others were gone. The orphanage was surrounded on one side by the edge of the forest and that place has always intrigued Naru. So grabbing a small well-worn bag out of the closet with her she packed an apple from the kitchens, a flashlight, and her small tattered orange blanket. She pulled off her shoes and socks after exiting the door which led outside. For some reason when Naru was touching skin to the ground could always sense when someone was nearby, never well enough to tell who they were and never more than say twenty-feet or so at the longest; she didn't question it though because it helped her avoid people.

Starting on her adventure, Naru wander past the tree line after checking to see if anyone was nearby. She kept on walking occasionally stopping to watch some insect or animal along her way and to munch on her apple. Eventually, she noticed that the sun was going down and it was cold and she was sort of frightened of all the noises in the forest. Slowly picking her flashlight and blanket out of her pack, she tried to walk back the way she had come. It didn't take long for her to figure out she was lost. Everything looked the same and she was so cold that her teeth were chattering; she slinked down against one of the tree trunks and could only hope that someone would come and find her.

It had been two days and there was no whisper of anyone nearby. Naru was terrified, and she kept getting sick, and was really very thirsty. Suddenly she felt a person. No three people, right at the edge of her range of feeling! Yelling as loud as she could she felt them turn and start heading towards her at quick speeds.

When the three arrived the seemed concerned, that is until they got close enough to see who she was. Now Naru was a smart three, almost four, year-old but she was also severely dehydrated and helpless in these woods. She saw no other option but to ask these three for help even if they were giving her looks like the villagers, even if they did mumble mean things under their breath, even if their hands went towards the pouches strapped on their legs.

So Naru for the first time in two days spoke, "Pl-Please can you please take me back to the orphanage? I don't feel well and I'm really very tired." The three boys sent each other shifty looks and mumbled some more under breath, and their gaze on her didn't soften, but they hadn't done anything to hurt her yet. "Pl-Please hel-" "Shut up you disgusting demon!" The one to her right cried and finally reached his hand inside of the pouch on his leg.

What he withdrew Naru recognized as a weapon called a kunai, it was sharp and pointed at one end, but had a smooth flat circular hoop attached to the other. The man directly in front of her and the one to her left tensed up and took a step back. "Watari that may not be such a good idea I've heard that, that brat usually has an Anbu guard," the middle one said while looking up toward the trees. The one with the kunai, Watari, Naru reminded herself said, "Geez, are you stupid Yoshiro? Don't you think if this brat had an Anbu guard she would have been taken out of the forest already, right Nobu?" Glancing at the final man all the way to her left, Naru tilted her head. Nobu however, merely kept gazing at her with disgust. "Hmm, unless perhaps they are hoping that she would die or get killed out here? They probably saw it as their duty to the village to let this monster die," he moved forward and also took out a sharp kunai.

Naru was scared, even more so than she had been those past nights with all the creepy sounds, the dark, and the cold. She was however slightly relieved to find out why it was that everyone disapproved of her existence. She was a demon. It all made sense now. After all, there were many different kinds of monsters in her story books. But demons have the ability to take many different forms, and one of them was people; usually adults. But still, it finally made sense why no one liked her much at all. She supposed that if she was them, she wouldn't like her much either. So, pressing herself into the tree as much as she could she closed her eyes and waited for the attack of the men to come, like in her stories. The men always attacked the monsters in her stories, to defeat them; the only thing she wasn't sure of was what happened to said monsters in said stories after said defeat. She supposed it couldn't be too bad though because everyone was happy at the end of her stories.

Suddenly, Naru felt pain. Searing down from her jaw line to her collar bone it has hot and it hurt and it felt wet. She screamed very loudly and then everything went black.

-Naruto: Age Five-

Naru-chan was five now, her hair almost reached her butt, she had a cool scar from her forest encounter where she learned she was a monster, she didn't speak unless directly questioned, and now she owned her first library card. It had taken a bit of guilt inducing puppy dog eyes on the Hokage, who apparently had a vested interest in her safety as she learned from the appearance of the Dog Anbu guard the day she received her scar, but she could now visit the library whenever she wanted. And visit the library she did.

At first it was just more fairy tale books based on monsters and demons trying to find out more about herself, but slowly she started wandering into the section where they kept the low level jutsu scrolls. This is where she met Anko-onesan. Anko is a purple haired, loud mouthed, rude, and vivacious woman. The complete opposite of Naru, she screamed confidence and demanded respect in every line and curve of her body. Naru thought she may be a demon too if the looks that others gave her was anything to go by. So, Naru followed her –Everywhere.

And, well eventually no matter how silent and how much Naru stuck in people's shadows, she is noticed. Anko is a special jonin, there was no way she could have never found out Naru rationalized to herself.

Anko calls Naru gaki for the awhile and every time she catches her they buy dango and split the treat between them. Naru thinks that this may be what it's like to have a mother, or at least to have a friend.

It's Anko who teaches Naru how to find the weak spots on an enemy, how to put chakra into your punches, and helps Naru find the correct scrolls on sealing so Naru can make herself weights to help with her speed training. Sure, it's not normal and it's not conforming to the normal expectations of everyone else for being normal, but Naru can't help but be happy because really, she supposes, demons aren't really normal anyways. Even if she never shows it, because showing it would mean that someone would disapprove and take it away and Naru's not sure she could handle that.

It isn't until Naru gets frightened enough to accidently smash her hand through a table at the orphanage that it actually becomes a problem.

The Matrons fear that Naru is doing something demonic and unnatural; they call the Hokage, for well honestly, not the first time. The Hokage scolds Naru saying that what she was doing was dangerous and could have hurt not only someone else but also herself. Naru doesn't mention the weighted seals on her legs and arms, or the teacher who taught her all those things even when directly asked. This is also the first time Naru hears of the ninja academy, and she can't help but wonder, 'Can demons become ninjas?' then thinks, 'Well they must because Onesan is a ninja.' She tells Hokage-sama that she wants to attend the academy and uses the puppy dog stare she has perfected especially for him until he concedes. She's told he will sign her up for the following year; however the orphanage will not allow her to move back in there.

Naru can't help but be kind of excited, internally of course, to see her new house. She knows it won't be anything super fancy or maybe even normally priced, but it will be hers and no one will be able to come in without her permission, due to the seals she has prepared, and no one can treat her meanly here. She includes Anko within the seal's perimeters first, and then thinks to add the Hokage, and finally the Dog Anbu who saved her two years ago and occasionally still follows her around.

She spends the rest of her free time reading in the library to learn more seals and training her taijutsu with Anko-onesan so she will have a chance at the academy, because she figures that a demon needs to be especially good at being a ninja to succeed. Well that and she still can't form the most basic jutsu that are of the lowest levels taught to the academy students.

**AN: So there's my first chapter. Whoo done! Only took like half my lifetime! Anyways I'm trying to make Naruto more thoughtful and less impulsive like her father while still reflecting that childhood innocence that I think she would have had in her younger years. Now, I am going to say she will NOT be all happy and pranky and loud like cannon Naruto. Mainly because I rationalize it as her being a female and thus reacting differently to similar circumstances then cannon Naruto. Alright well, I hope you enjoyed it, especially if you read this far through it, and that you'll tell me how I did and if I should continue. Anyways, looking forward to feedback.**


	2. Lean

**AN: Hihi! It's good to hear everyone's opinions, ideas, and support for me to continue! Anyways I wanted to clear up a few things either in case they weren't obvious or just because I feel like a may need to for an overall better understanding of the rest of my chapters. Okay first, about the pairings, which I mentioned briefly last chapter, they won't play like a super huge obnoxious role during my story. Naru WILL have a crush or crushes on other characters that aren't the one who I have her end with. Next, if last chapter seemed kinda rushed that's actually because I made it like that. It actually was more of a preview/tester chapter then anything else. To make up for the lacking details of her childhood I plan to incorporate flashbacks throughout the story, hopefully this will help everyone understand my version of FemNaruto more fully. Erm-Um THIRD! While I did make a point to say that Naru was going to appear to be calmer and more collected in her personality, like her father, I wanted to say that most likely had the scare in the woods not happened her personality would have been mush closer to the original Naruto's. Due to this knowledge I can say that now while she does appear rather sociopathic it's a front that she puts up, because of how deeply she feels about things and when she does show emotion its usually in small, but very explosive bursts. Fourth, the sensing thing she did last chapter was actually an ability that Minato possessed that I think will be helpful in the future. Hm, I believe that is all for now so if you have anymore questions either PM them to me or write them on a review and I will answer them to the best of my ability.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Naruto, however plot ideas and possibly certain jutsu's are mine.**

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Kyuubi/Demon Speaking'_

_-Flashback-_

Halfpace- n. A platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight.

-Naruto Age: Six-

Looking around at all the children running and screaming and whining I couldn't help, but feel that this is a horrible idea. Actually, it may be my worst one yet. When the Hokage asked me if I would like him to accompany me to sign up for my age group in the academy this year I should have just agreed. 'Yes, that would have been the smarter choice.' I thought narrowing my eyes at my selected guardian for the day, whose eyes kept flitting between the children, the parents and family members, and their own kunai pouch respectively.

In fact, the only people here who it appears that Anko-neesan isn't fantasizing about maiming is the man with long silky platinum hair pulled up into a high ponytail and the woman with the mammoth sized dog, who looks just as likely to eat the rest of the newly formed student-body as nee-san is to send kunai through their trachea. The man seemed to exude the kind of cool composure that I myself try for; not so much as twitched under the complaints he was receiving from his miny-me daughter dressed in some seemingly fashionable purple and pink contraption. The woman who could possible be a less sadistic Anko in another life is grinning down with a feral smile at a boy about my age who was clutching at a small white and brown puppy, who seems vaguely upset about the current arrangement.

The only thing that I can think of that went well so far is the actually signing up part of the day. As soon as the younger brown haired chunin made a move to protest my enrolment nee-san trying to slice off his fingers nearly took off a teacher's head and we promptly received the correct forms and a wide barrier of space to fill them out in. Afterwards, people tended to avoid going near us and Anko tried to single handedly glare every squealing child into some kind of fiery and painful death.

I couldn't help but notice that I wasn't the only one to receive new clothing if going by the boy and girl, who I would be joining this year, is anything to go by. No one is wearing any sort of ninja gear yet, however it looks like the current style of clothing is somewhat in-between civilian and ninja clothes. Flexible and sturdy for the males, but the females seem to lean towards impractical styles and materials. Unfortunately, this appears to be another difference that I will have from the class of children. My navy colored sleeveless hooded sweat jacket, grey t-shirt, and navy colored pocket filled pants definitely don't hold the same aesthetic appeal as their bright and pastel colored dresses.

Earlier this year, I would have chalked it up to being another one of those things that make a demon so different from normal people, however after bringing it up with nee-san she tells me, that while she could definitely be classified as demonic, I am not a demon. She has told me that when I graduate she will try and receive permission to tell me more, but for now it is a classified S-ranked secret that is punishable by death and other equally as awful fates.

Not only has Anko taken the place of my surrogate mother/sister, but she is also tutoring me in just about anything she can think of. Including anatomy, poisons, weapons handling, killer intent resistance, and what little she knows of tracking- which isn't much. My taijutsu training is going well and she told me to not bother with learning the academy style since it tended to be easily predictable and seeing as I was not finished learning the style she was teaching it would only hinder my progress. My speed is now at a mid-genin and will hopefully reach high-chunin by graduation time.

However, walking away from the chaos and towards home without my sadistic escort only proves to be an even more disastrous idea then staying in mass of loud children. 'I should have known better,' vaguely crosses my mind as I climb up a tree and away from the enraged civilian parents who have taken to chasing me across Kohona's less savory areas. 'Usually, they give up well before we reach the red-light district, so they must be very upset about my new involvement in Kohona's ninja community.'

Laying myself out on the thick tree branch I relax into a semi-sleeping state, and wait until I feel the parents walk away and return to their homes, before I climb down and wander back to my apartment and set my alarm clock. My last thought before crashing into the relaxing abyss of sleep was, 'Well here goes everything.'

-Next Day-

"Okay now class everyone head towards your pre-assigned seats as marked on the board and then was can start." Suddenly quiet all of the other children around me shuffle into their seats which I had already taken earlier. Being all the way in the back row and towards the corner with the widow is a bit of a strange decision on their part if the children around me are any indication. It appears the all the young male clan members have formed a sort of semi-circle around the current location. The chubby Akamichi boy, based off of his red swirl cheeks, is directly to my left and to his is the sleeping Nara boy. To my right is the quiet Aburame with his dark colored glasses and high collared shirt; finally in the row directly in front of me is the delicate looking Uchiha boy and the loud mouthed Inuzaka along with a few other non-descript possibly civilian children.

"So now that we're all in our seats we will start our class with introductions. I'll go first to give you all an example. My name is Umino Iruka, however everyone here can call me Iruka-sensei. I like teaching and reading new books. I dislike it when people don't pay attention in class. My hobbies include reading, cooking, and grading your homework. Finally, my dream for the future is for all of you to become successful ninja and kunoichi." Pointing his finger at the row opposite to mine the man instructed them to start.

"Uchiha, Sasuke! Urhmm… I like my brother and tomatoes. I dislike fangirls and annoying people. My hobbies include training and eating new tomato dishes. When I grow up I want to be as awesome of a ninja as my brother!" 'The delicate Uchiha boy seems to exude cheerfulness and a huge sense of admiration for his older brother,' I couldn't help but think that he seemed like the kind of child I may have been if I was born into a family such as his. The teacher spoke up pointing to the boy next to Sasuke-kun, "Alright, you next."

"Inuzaka, Kiba and this is Akamaru," the boy said holding up his now named nin-dog. "I like playing with the animals at my sister's clinic and training Akamaru! I dislike loud noises and bad smells. My dream is to become the bestest tracker in all of Kohona!" I couldn't help but think that it was kind of funny that he disliked loud noises when he had to of had the loudest introduction so far.

Moving through the civilian boys it was finally my row's turn. "_Sigh_ So troublesome. Nara, Shikamaru. I like cloud watching, sleeping, and shōgi. I dislike waking up for the academy and bullies. My aspirations for the future are to marry a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter is married and my son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of my life playing shōgi or Go. Then die of old age before my wife." Blinking I couldn't help but see the Nara in a new light. Not only had he probably shown the most intelligence of the bunch so far but he also got his point across clearly without stumbling over his words once, unlike the rest of our young student-body. 'Seems like the Nara's intelligence isn't at all over exaggerated nor their apparent laziness.'

"_Munch_ Akimichi, _Munch_ Chōji. I like my mother's cooking, _Munch_ new flavors of potato chips, and spending time with my friend. I dislike _MunchMunch _bullies and people judge others based on their outward appearance _Munch_. When I grow up I want to be a good leader like my father is." 'Chōji,' I think he seems like the kind of person who finds their friends and then sticks with them through thick and thin, regardless of others opinions. 'Maybe-No! Naru you can't think like that! Just get in graduate and get out. Experience has shown us not to trust even those who appear harmless.'

Looking out from underneath my dark eyelashes I can see and hear all the children whispering in low to medium ones now. All eyes were on me awaiting my introduction. Sighing much like the Nara boy I begin, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like dango and my nee-san Anko. I dislike those that look down on others without getting to know them first and overly sunny days. My hobbies include training with Anko-nee and researching at the library. In the future I wish to join the Intelligence Division and work under Ibiki-san in order to unearth truth previously hidden from me." 'There,' I thought, 'that's not too bad I didn't go into extreme detail and I also didn't lie.' However, looking at the now shock ridden and paling faces, save few, I can tell I made some mistake somewhere. Re-reviewing my small speech I can't help but wonder where that reaction came from. Finally, cringing at my mention of the Intel Division I think back to the fact that Anko mentioned that most don't do well with mentions to that particular place.

More whispers followed, "My mom-""-demon!""-Evil-""What a freak!""-stay away from her," and catching hints of these ones I folded farther into myself. In fact, the only ones who didn't seem to react were the male clan members surrounding me, the blonde Yamanaka girl and the small Hyuuga heiress. I am now extremely glad for the fact I convinced Anko to get me the hooded sweat jacket. Not only was it keeping my bright hair hidden, but now it hid my absolutely mortified face from veiw.

In an act of mercy, cutting through the ruckus, the quiet Aburame redirrected the unwanted attention from me onto himself by starting his introduction. "Aburame, Shino. I like bugs and spending time with my clan. I dislike those who are careless. I want to become a strong clan leader like my father when I grow up." Face heating up I couldn't help, but mumble an especially quiet, "Thanks." To the even more introverted then I, Aburame boy. Tilting his head in slight acknowledgement he proceeded to not speak for the rest of the class.

The rest of the class flew by uneventful and at the end I rushed out heading home at my top speed.

-Naruto Age: Seven-

A year into the academy. That's how long it took me to make my first friend. A year. Anko thinks that I may be some kind of socially inept child due to my mistreatment. I always remind her that she barely has one friend- if that. However, if she is correct then it would make sense that I found myself with someone just as broken and introverted as myself.

The Uchiha Massacre. There was only one survivor, my classmate Sasuke. No one really knows what happened except well maybe the Hokage, the council, Sasuke, and the traitorous teme who killed all his fellow clan members himself. I had seen Itachi before. He used to walk Sasuke to school on occasion and was the one who signed his up for the academy in the first place. Not even I had ever foreseen the possibility that the young, strong, brilliant, and _loyal_ Uchiha Itachi would ever commit such a travesty against his own clan.

Sasuke isn't the same as he was, no longer with the sunny disposition and unending praise for his brother. He has stopped talking unless approached first and even then his responses are snappish to downright cruel. He has a burning desire to prove himself better then all others and a vaguely unpleasant attitude.

I'm not to sure when exactly it happened. We somehow became permanent sparing partners, due to the fact that he was the only one to be able to match my speed and I his ferocity. Along the way of beating the crap out of each other we slowly became friends of a sort. I wasn't a fan girl and he wasn't out to sabotage my progress.

Strangely after the start of our sort of friendship others started to follow. Whether it was due to the fact that they wanted to cozy up to the last Uchiha or because they just didn't wanted to be the first to initiate a friendship with the most hated child in the village was undetermined. But, following the Uchiha the quiet Aburame who defended me on the first day was added. For him, he didn't join us so much as we joined him. He just so happened to have the tree which lent the most shade and well none of the obnoxious fan girls dared to approach the boy who could control the bugs around them. Finally, the Nara and Akamichi boys joined up claiming it was the best spot to watch clouds and that they were told to share their lunch box's contents respectively. It continued like this for years, just the five of us being sort of friends.

-Naruto Age: Twelve-

Being shaken awake there was only one thought in my head, 'it is finally here, Graduation Day.' Anko-neesan requested the whole day off just so she could wake me up and then congratulate me at the end of the day.

Taking a plate of dango, our favorite treat, from Anko I couldn't help but think back on the past few years. I finally achieved my goal speed wise a few months ago, now being at a high-chunin level. I had also worked my way through all of my basic and moderate level taijutsu stances. Finally, I had created my first original seal which was marked on the inside of both wrists and in the indent behind both ears; it allowed me to store copious amounts of senbon needles and was easy to reach. After learning about anatomy from Anko-nee she was able to teach me the basics of senbon handling. Unfortunately, not only was my technique incomplete, but once I started my grades in kunai and shuriken handling dropped so low to the point where I had to completely re-teach myself.

Tottering back into my room I look to the clothing that was laid out on my bed.

_-"Gaki! We need to get you some new threads. Your graduating soon and frankly your current clothing looks like shit. It has holes and is nearly threadbare, so get off your ass and let's go." Anko always has had a way with words…_

_Stepping into the basic ninja supply and outfitting store I wander through until something catches my interest. It was a tracksuit that would cover up much of my overly pale skin. The coloring was black with a deep navy blue that seemed to make my eyes stand out even more then normal. The sleeves of the jumpsuit were cropped short to just above my elbows and the jacket itself only reached to right under my newly forming bust. The bottoms of the tracksuit were black with navy colored lining and reached to my ankles. Finally, Anko added a black mesh shirt with long sleeves and a navy colored fitted crop tank top. Picking up a pair of basic navy ninja sandals we walked up to the counter._

_I stopped halfway there glancing at the hair clips they had before selecting and orange one with a pink and red flower atop it. Splitting the cost of the purchase half way we headed to our favorite dango stand before retiring home-_

Smiling softly and shrugging on my jacket before stopping at the door to slip on my sandals and grab my bento box, most likely filled with even more dango, from Anko I leaped across Kohona to reach the academy.

I slipped around the two arguing girls in front of the door and into my seat sparing a nod to the boys who had become my friends. After a few minutes and the role call the teachers passed out the written exams, which honestly I could have tried harder on. After, the teachers split us up into small groups, I ended up in a group filled with civilian children, and had us spar against each other for the taijutsu portion. The last part was a ninjutsu test where we would all we pulled one-by-one into a separate room to be evaluated by Iruka-sensei and his aid Mizuki-sensei.

When it was my turn for the ninjutsu portion I walked in confidently, preformed the substitution jutsu and clone jutsu to their expectations and picked up my headband which I tied around my neck.

-Later that Night-

"Anko-nee remember what you told me when I was six? Are you finally cleared to tell me what you wanted to then?" I asked with a bit of hesitance on my part due to the fact that I wasn't really sure what the information would be.

"Hmmm… so you still remember that eh, Gaki?" She turned around in the seat she was in at the dango stand. Seeming to size me up for not the first time I stared right back into her calculating gaze. She nodded her head decisively, dropped some yen onto the counter, and motioned for me to follow her.

The walk to where ever in the forest she was taking me had to be the longest walk I had ever taken. I remember vaguely having a feeling that my heart was trying to escape through my throat. We finally stopped at a small shed-like structure with trees over hanging and their leaves softly shining in the moonlight. Standing there for about ten minutes she finally started talking, "Twelve years ago on October tenth a nine tailed fox appeared out of no where and attacked this village. The Yodaime, the Kage of the time, found that the demon could not actually be killed and could only be sealed due to the fact it was actually a living embodiment of malicious chakra. Deciding the only way to save his village was to seal away the vicious entity he prepared a seal of his own creation. Half of the fox demon's chakra was sealed away inside hi to never be seen again and the other was sealed away within a newborn infant. That child was you gaki." Her voice seemed to grow to a softer tone towards the end that I had never heard coming from Anko before.

"That's why the villagers hate me, because I'm the vessel to hold the Kyuubi? That's stupid. Not only are they undermining the Yodaime'e sacrifice, but also his skill which has been claimed to be unparalleled." Grinding my teeth together I look towards the soft white shine coming through the tree leaves.

Finally, turning on my heel and heading back the way we came I called over my shoulder, "Coming? It'd be a shame for me to miss my team assignment tomorrow." The previously solemn woman let out one of her shudder inducing chuckles and grinned, before jogging up behind me and throwing her arm around my shoulder. "Not so fast you little imp! I have a special treat for you because you graduated!"

Motioning for me to watch her she formed a variety of and seals before saying, "Kage no Jutsu!" My eyes snapped open as I watched her blend into the shaddows right before me until I couldn't make her out.

"Well get to it gaki! You only have tonight to learn it! I have a long term mission starting tomorrow and won't be able to supervise you like this much longer."

In their rush to teach and learn the jutsu neither noticed the white haired chunin being taken down by select Anbu members nearly twelve feet away.

**AN: Okay so phew… this is nearly two pages longer then last chapter! Anyways Naruto finally learns that she isn't a demon, she just has one sealed inside her! Also we finally start the real series next YATTA! Furthermore, there is a poll on my page for who you think should be Naru's Jōnin sensei.**


	3. Bow

**AN: Anyways, this is just a filler chapter and wasn't meant to be long at all. I used this chapter as another excuse to show the differences in personality from canon Naruto to my version of FemNauto. Anyways I'm planning on updating every other Friday or Saturday, not including this piece. So, I should have an update by the 19****th**** or 20****th**** and after that the 26****th**** or 27****th**** and so on. I explored using a different point of view and liked using more then one so I will probably keep doing so unless you all don't want me to. Oh, and I wanted to make a not of this because I mention in this chapter that Naruto has her jacket open, and due to the fact she only has a mesh shirt and a fitted crop top on underneath it, in my story her seal is only visible when she's either using the Kyuubi's chakra or if there's a foreign chakra added near the seal's location.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Naruto, however plot ideas and possibly certain jutsu's are mine.**

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Kyuubi/Demon Speaking'_

_-Flashback-_

Halfpace- n. A platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight.

-Outside P.o.V.-

A serious looking girl with red hair and blue eyes sighed and sat down in the singular chair causing her opened tracksuit jacket to slide slightly down her mesh covered shoulders. One hand adjusting her hitai-ate around her neck and the other playing haphazardly with her shoulder length hair; she closed her eyes and nodded at the man in front of her.

The man was wearing a matching set of tan and what hair he had was grey more importantly, however was the contraption he was leaning over. The camera was large and bulky, with a black sheet covering the back end, standing on a tripod. This camera would be used to take the picture for the girl's ninja registration photo.

Finally, the man clambered behind the machine and held up his hand with what looked like a detonation trigger. The formally lax girl tensed and opened her eyes, the slightest bit a of scowl forming on her face when the man muttered a quick, "Say cheese," before snapping the photograph.

_-Timeskip: Ninja Academy-_

"Take it again." The Kage of Kohona said while he sat at a long desk next to another ninja wearing a green stripped bucket hat. "What?" The young red-head replied a brief look of irritation crossing her face before reforming its previous blank facade.

"Take it again." The Kage repeated, his old weathered face taking on a deadpan expression. "Why should I?" This time the exasperated look stayed on her face. "You wouldn't let me wear a high collared shirt, or a hood, or-"Cutting into the girl's speech the Hokage said, "Naruto, you're scowling like someone is threatening to maim you from behind the cameraman."

Naruto sighed and leaned back on the chair turning her face away from the old man. Tilting her face downwards she let a ghost of a grin cross her mouth before saying, "I guess I have no choice then." Flashing her face upwards she softened her whole face and let some moister leak into her eyes. "Please don't make me take another picture Hokage-sama." The addressed man quickly turned away avoiding her cute looks with a hand covering his mouth and nodded his head rapidly.

Moment later the old man attempted to engage the young girl in some seemingly meaningless chatter and suddenly the doors to the side of them were thrown open. A very young and small boy, who admittedly would still reach to Naruto's chest, ran into the room brandishing a shurikan in his hand with a long scarf trailing behind him.

"Jiji, get ready to fight! I'm going to be the Fifth Hokage!" The boy yelled out before tripping over his ridiculously long scarf. He made an odd sort of surprised face on his way down to the floor before ending up in the fetal position, clutching his head, and whining. A man in a navy sort of two piece outfit, black sunglasses, and his hitai-ate worn like a bandana entered the room as the boy said something about his falling being a trap.

"Are you okay Honorable Grandson? May I inform you that there aren't any traps here." The dark clothed man exclaimed while adjusting his tinted shades.

-Naruto P.o.V.-

'Who is this gaki?' I thought with a renewed scowl etched on my features. Both of the new men suddenly seemed to notice my presence turning towards me. The young child started towards me; however my attention was on the man with the shades who had on an expression that I knew all to well. The disgust was written plain to see on his face, in the downturned brows and cruel smirk that formed.

Noticing the finger now shoved nearly an inch from my nose, my eyes widened as the boy began to speak. "You must have done this to me!" He falsely accused. Blinking before my scowl deepened I just stared at him. "Hey answer him! He is the grandson of the Third Hokage!" The navy man yelled out in an obnoxious tone.

My face cleared of any emotion before I replied, "Heh, as if that makes a difference. You could be Tsuchikage themselves for all I care, what makes you think you can demand any information from me?" The boy seemed to go into shock as he fell away from me onto his bum and didn't move. The man on the other hand was suddenly making strange noises and moving his fingers weirdly. Not sure if this was some sort of nin- or gen-jutsu I used my Kage no Justsu to blend into the shadows and escape the room.

_-Timeskip: Kohona Village-_

Walking down a seemingly deserted street in the village I turned my head back briefly to see that the gaki was still following me around. I let out a sigh before continuing to walk on and giving the child a chance to leave me alone. Finally, when the boy continued to follow me down a planked alley way I spun on my heel as he pulled up a sheet that was stripped the opposite way of the alley's walls. "Hey, gaki! Go away. Your camouflage skills are severely lacking and that could get you killed where I'm heading." Chuckling, the boy started to mutter something about my skills all while I walked off in another direction.

**AN: Sorry for the shortness, but again I didn't intend to make this a long chapter and I figured something is better then nothing! Also, According to the poll results Naruto's team's sensei will be…. ****Uzuki Yūgao the female, Cat Anbu with purple hair! YAY!~ Honestly, this is who I had hopped would will and would work best for my team ideas! So, anticipate and look forward to next chapter!**


	4. Incline

**AN: Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Naruto, however plot ideas and possibly certain jutsu's are mine. There will be mentions of F/F, M/M, and F/M relationships in later chapters, if this bothers you well, get over it.**

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Kyuubi/Demon Speaking'_

_-Flashback-_

Halfpace- n. A platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight.

-Outside P.o.V-

Coming into the scarcely furbished room, a red-haired and darkly outfitted girl was dripping with sweat. She meandered her way towards what appeared to be a small bathroom before disrobing and stepping into the steaming cubical. When finished she came back into the living space of her small apartment and sat to eat some dry cereal and a bottled water, still clothed in only one large red towel for her body and a slightly smaller grey towel with yellow daisy designs for her hair. The girl, looking up her wall, spotted a well worn calendar of no particular theme with the day's date circled in red.

At a lightning fast pace the girl rocketed out of her towels, abandoning them and her breakfast at the table, and dove towards a small chest at the end of her bed. Pulling out a black and navy colored jumpsuit, a black mesh top, and a navy cropped tank top the girl quickly robed herself in them. Shooting towards the bottom of the chest she pulled out two thin black hair clips, which she used to secure her long red bangs to the right side of her face, and a navy colored leaf village headband tying it securely around her neck. She dashed out the door, not noticing that it was left slightly open.

-Naruto P.o.V-

Walking through the familiar back alleyways, I sighed softly. 'Not that stupid gaki again,' I thought looking at the boy's shoddily done camouflage. 'He needs to find a new hobby, or some friends, or something. Whatever he does, he needs to leave me be.'

"Ever since I escaped the boy after that meeting with the Hokage, he's been following me around." Muttering under my breath as I saw his chubby fingers reach up to pull down his disguise, a backwards lined sheet made to look like a fence, I activated my Kage no Jutsu and melded into the surrounding shadows. A brief look of bemusement crossed my face as I watched him stumble over his too long scarf and then look around dumbly for my person.

-At the Academy-

Falling asleep in my seat, I was suddenly awoken by what sounded like a heard of rhino's stampeding towards the classroom. Looking up I saw Ino and Sakura, the class's top two kunoichi graduates, pushing against each other in an attempt to reach inside the room first.

Confirming my thoughts, the girls both pushed inside and threw up their arms screaming out, "Goal!" Then proceeded to pant heavily and argue about who reached inside first. Noting this as normal and not worth my attention I settled back down into my seat with my head in my arms and tried to drift back asleep. Soon the noise of angry females surrounded my desk and I made a tactical retreat into a different seat leaving Sasuke to deal with his female admirers on his own.

-Hokage Tower-

"Is that this year's top rookie, Uchiha, Sasuke?" a male voice penetrated through the previously silent air in the room. The Kage simply replied in the affirmative before a red-eyed and brown haired female with delicate facial features, dressed in black mesh and a red bandage like wrap dressed questioned, "The survivor of the Uchiha clan?" Once again the old Kage confirmed the statement as true.

The orb, which had previously been showing the ninja's surrounding the Hokage the male Uchiha, shifted its sight towards a sleeping red-head with her face covered by her arms. A purple haired kunoichi, with a fairly forgettable face if not for her bright red lipstick, wearing the standard green flack jacket, black sweat pants tucked into calf high black ninja combat sandals, and bandaged arms with black armguards over top sighed while looking at the girl her face unchanging. 'Uzumaki, Naruto. Huh?'

-Ninja Academy-

_Kick._ "-from here on… full…. carry out…. Jonin sensei-" _Kick._ "-the groups…. determined…. strength…. equal." _Kick._ _Kick._ Suddenly jerking awake, I realized that Iruka-sensei had started out giving us our squad assignments. Glancing quickly behind me I was surprised to see Kiba giving me a sheepish look before pointing next to him at the eternally bored looking Shikamaru.

"Now then next, team seven will be Sasuke Uchiha, Nara Shikamaru, and Uzumaki Naruto." A strange feeling of befuddlement overtook me. 'I could have sworn they would have gone with the InoShikaCho combination that has been so successful in the past and that Kiba as the lowest scorer on the exam would be paired with Sasuke and Sakura the highest. I wonder what could have drastically changed the normal team assignments like that?' Confusion still being my main emotion at the time I snuck a glance back at Shikamaru who had Kiba wake me up. 'Is it possible he knew?'

"Team eight will be Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Sakura Haruno." Even more confused I looked to the members of team eight wondering why a team would be made with two kunoichi in it.

Hearing the conversation behind me I saw Ino and Shikamaru discussing something, but only caught the end of Ino saying, "That's why I'm glad I'm not on a squad with you."

"Squad ten. Akamichi Choji, Aburame Shino, and Yamanaka Ino." Ino seemed to deflate at this declaration while Shikamaru didn't even attempt to hold back his smirk at her defeated look.

"Alright that's it. These groups were created to balance your individual talents-" 'That's it! Every team has one support, one ninjutsu based, and one taijutsu based. Well except for this group, however both Shikamaru and myself have never shown any particular talent at anything, just basic skills, and Sasuke was the top student, with the highest marks in everything. The reason that the groups are set up is according to our known skill set!' I thought to myself. "In the afternoon, I'll introduce you to your Jonin senseis. Until then you're all dismissed!"

Walking out of the room I used my only non-academy taught jutsu and slipped into the shadows never noticing the pair of eyes that widened in shock at my sudden disappearance and the pair that followed me even after I had melded into the darkness.

-Later that day Naruto's Apartment-

The purple-haired woman and the old Kage stood in the living space of the small room. "So this is Naruto's room? It's just like Anko said it would be." The woman glanced around at the haphazardly thrown towels and unfinished bowel of dry cereal, before walking over towards the door which had some strange symbols written in black ink around it. "Both Sasuke the last heir of the Uchiha and Shikamaru the young Nara heir will be on your team as well," The Kage said musingly. "I wish you good luck."

"Yes, well the formerly picked teams were unacceptable. Anko informed me that Naruto-chan is like her younger sister and that if I was going to try and take a team this year I should pick her and build the team around her needs." The Jonin sensei said. "Also, you had planned on pairing Hatake with an Uchiha which you know would have led to favoritism of the boy over his peers. I guess this will be interesting either way."

**AN: Yatta! Another chapter complete! Okay so a few notes: 1. in an earlier chapter I mentioned that Naruto has seals in her room to prevent intruders, this is true yes. However, the seal doesn't knock people out or anything, it's designed so that when someone opens the door it does two things one- it sends a jolt of chakra through the person if they have an unrecognized chakra signature and two- it alerts Naruto that someone has entered her home with a slight buzzing noise. You can either pretend that she didn't hear it due to her being asleep or that since she accidentally left the door open the whole process was negated, it really doesn't matter in the long run. 2. Yes, Yugao and Anko have some sort of close relationship, I won't specify on what type atm, however I wonder why Yugao decided to stop doing Anbu work this year? Hmmmm? 3. I wanted to thank everyone for the support so far and thank Abdullahsaurus for the correct spelling of Tsuchikage (I couldn't find it ;-; obviously I didn't try hard enough and was just a fail). **

**Hope to hear more from you all,**

**Tinker**


	5. Gradient

**AN: I am so sosoosooooo sorry for the late update. I had Finals both on Friday and Monday that I had to prepare for. I ended up posting a chapter of a Yu Yu Hakusho Inuyasha crossover I had written before so as to have at least something up. It's called Epithymy and it's a KagomeXYusuke fic. Anyways once again I'm SO sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Naruto, however plot ideas and possibly certain jutsu's are mine. There will be mentions of F/F, M/M, and F/M relationships in later chapters, if this bothers you well, get over it or get out ;) .**

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Kyuubi/Demon Speaking'_

_-Flashback-_

Halfpace- n. A platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight.

-Naruto P.o.V.-

It was a sort of unspoken decision between Sasuke, Shikamaru, and I that we would sit together; when we came back from lunch. Moving to the middle seat at the table where Sasuke normally sits next to the window, I fell asleep waiting for the room to refill with my former classmates.

When I awoke the classroom was refilled, Sasuke was only my left towards the window, and Shikamaru was on my right towards the rest of the classroom. A few teams could be seen filing out behind their Jonin senseis. Setting my head back down to go back to sleep, like my new pineapple shaped teammate had already done; I was surprised when a hand slammed down in front of me, making me jerk back into an upright position.

"Hmm… so this is team seven then?" The female Jonin had dark purple hair a few shades darker then Anko-nee and wore the standard Jonin issued clothing. She had pale skin, dark brown eyes, and a forgettable face; if not for the bright red lipstick she wore.

Suddenly smiling the woman said, "Alright then meet me at the tree swing outside!"

-Outside, Under the Tree, Near the Swing-

When the three of us arrived to our designated location we plopped down forming a half circle around our new sensei who had been sitting in the swing. The woman smiled again and opened her mouth, "So then why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves?"

Shikamaru, who was obviously still half asleep as evidenced by his drooping eyes, immediately countered. "Man this is troublesome, but what do you want us to say? Give us an example." He finished with a mumble that sounded like he was saying troublesome woman.

Seeing that both Sasuke and I had nodded our heads in agreement she started. "Okay, then. My Name is Uzuki, Yugao. Hmmm… I like eating dango with my girlfriend and I don't like lazy people," she said with a look directed at both Shikamaru and I, who were slowly starting to doze off. "My dream for the future is to raise my child to the best of my ability." Her hand moved over her stomach. "My hobbies include painting and training. Your turn, you with the bored expression who was asking questions!"

Not bothering to correct the fact that he only asked one question Shikamaru slouched his shoulders, into their usual lazing position, and spared Uzuki-sensei a brief look before he sighed. "Nara, Shikamaru. _Sigh._ I like playing shōgi. I dislike waking up early and troublesome women who nag at me all the time. My dream for the future is to get married and have two kids, then retire after they advance in their lives. Hobbies that I enjoy are cloud watching and hanging out with my friends."

Uzuki-sensei smiled and turned her gaze from Shikamaru to me. "Okay, sleepy red-head, your turn!"

Tilting my chin up, I appeared to run my eyes over the leaves above us when I was actually glancing at my two new teammates, and began speaking in the most monotone voice I could muster. "My name is Uzumaki, Naruto. I like eating sweets, especially dango. I don't like being forced into positions that I can't maneuver myself out of. In the future, when I've grown stronger I wish to join the Intelligence Division and work under Ibiki-san. Some of my hobbies include training and reading about different jutsu in the library."

_ -Walking out of the classroom I pulled Shikamaru and Sasuke aside and into an abandoned class room. Putting my fingers to the stone floor I felt around for any foreign chakra sources. After finding none, I pushed myself up, and walk towards the two boys that were eyeing me with suspicion._

_"We need to decide what to do now. Anko-nee informed me of a secondary test and if we give away to much information about ourselves when we go outside, to introduce ourselves to our sensei, we may as well just hand back in our headbands now."_

_ Both boys glanced at each other and then back at me. Sasuke spoke first, "What do recommend then?"_

_ Sighing and running my hand through my hair I said, "I guess our best bet would be to repeat the information we gave out on our first day. This way at least she can't find any new weaknesses in our defenses."_

_ "If there's some kind of secondary test, why don't we set a trap for her? We could easily slip in some false information that could later be used to our advantage, if that is the case, a false crack in our armor." My eyes widened as I looked over to the normally lax boy in our academy class. 'That's actually a good plan. I didn't even think of something like that.'_

_ Looking at the two boys I asked, "What kind of information would we leak then?"_

_ Surprisingly it was Shikamaru who answered again. "It was probably pretty well known that the three of us eat lunch together and hung out, at the academy. We should lead her into believing that we're each other's weakness. Naruto, as the girl in our group you'll be seen as an automatic weak point," he said with a look in my direction which I nodded at._

_ "We're going to exploit that belief. I'll say make a remark leading Uzuki-sensei to believe that my friendship with the both of you is important to me and that I have feelings for an above average girl that I know. She will most likely assume that it's you."_

_ Eyes alight at the idea of a challenge I continued our plan, "So when it's my turn to speak I'll speak more blatantly, as to make it seem more innocent and unrehearsed, about a fear of being stuck in an undesirable position. If or rather when we have our test against Uzuki-sensei she'll attempt to trap me in such a way."_

_ Our two pairs of eyes turn towards our final member before I glance at Shikamaru and nod my head for him to continue. "Sasuke it'll be your job to create the conflict. While it's an unlikely circumstance we're going to be posing as rivals. You can make a comment about returning your clan to its former glory and glace at Naruto from the corner of your eye. This will be the hole in our group. She will think that if she attacks Naruto she will cause discord in our group.'-_

"Mhmm… Interesting, well, it' your turn at the end, with the broody expression." Uzuki-sensei said pointing her finger at Sasuke.

"My names… Uchiha, Sasuke. I have lots of things that I don't like and I don't really like most things," he said while glancing towards me at the end. 'Man, Oh man is he laying on the emo/avenger role thick.' I thought amusedly to myself with a glace at Shikamaru, seeing him also containing his mirth. "And I don't feel like summing up my ambition as just a dream, but I do have an ambition. The ambition to restore my clan with out fail-" Insert another glance in my direction here. "-And to kill a certain man!"

Chuckles and giggles fill the area. 'Has-has Uzuki-sensei gone mad' I wonder glancing at my teammates. "Pffftt..! You-you guys are great! You all pass.!"

'What?' Now fully turning my head to the two boys beside me I can see that they are in similar states of confusion.

After calming down Uzuki started to explain what she was talking about to us, "Yesterday before my girlfriend Anko left for her long term mission I had her casually mention the second test to Naruto." My eyes widen as she glances slyly at me. " Hoping that someone who's goal was to be in the Intelligence Division would be able to plan ahead for such a situation where you could neither lie nor give away completely false information, with limited time, I asked you to come and introduce yourselves outside which would give you just enough time to organize your plans. Not only did none of you lie to me you all directed my focus to a perceived weak spot and gave me a fake opening. All of this was organized in under six minutes because you all were still out here in time to make everything seem unsuspicious." She counted off on her fingers.

"Your acting was believable enough and you managed to gather more information from me then I from you. I hand picked all three of you to form this team. The Uchiha prodigy, who can learn anything he sees. The Nara heir who forms advanced battle tactics from the shadows. And the misunderstood Uzumaki who absorbs information and evolves for each situation she's put in." Grinning like a crazy person she continued, "You three are going to be the best infiltration team that any of the Hidden Villages have ever seen!"

**AN: Wooo… Its done! Only 3 ½ pages, but it's still something after the week I've had! We learn that Yugao is preggers (who's that daddy O-O?) and dating the woman that Naruto considers an older sister/mother figure. That's why she's not in Anbu anymore. We also learn that team seven is going to specialize in infiltration! Something else new is that I think that none of the rookie knew before this point, except perhaps Choji and maybe Ino, that Shikamaru is really smart! Rmm.. Oh and that Naruto doesn't like being cornered, be it physical, emotional, or mental. Hope you enjoyed it and seeya next time!**


End file.
